Israel/Palestine
In reply to the discussion: How Nazi Propaganda and the Muslim Brotherhood Led to the 1948 Israel-Arab War [View all]aranthus
(3,386 posts)Blaming all Palestinians for the Mufti would be like blaming all Germans for Hitler. Oh wait, we did that for years. In fact, we went out of our way to de-Nazify Germany after the war, which is why we don't blame modern Germans for Hitler. Because not only weren't they there, they have long renounced Nazi ideology.
The truth is that neither Hitler, nor the Mufti did what they did on their own. The Mufti had followers, supporters, and an army (arguably two armies, but the chain of command is complicated). If Palestinians want to claim that they have been a nation for thousands of years (which they do), then they are accountable as a nation for their actions in the 47-49 war, just as other nations are accountable for the actions of their leaders and their military. What's more, the Palestinians have never rejected the ideology and positions of the Mufti. Instead, they have embraced them. Seventy years down the road, and Palestinians are still arguing that the Jews are only a religion so they shouldn't have a state at all. Seventy years down the road, and the Palestinians are still looking for ways that they can reverse the defeat in the war they started, so they can eliminate Israel. Don't you think that the Palestinians should be held responsible for the things that they did, and the things that they are still doing?
As to what good will come of this. The truth is important for its own sake. Not only that, it sets the parameters of peoples' understanding of the present. It also tells us a lot about the other side when they reject the truth for no more reason than that they don't like it. It focuses attention on the real problem. Something has to change within the Palestinian nation, or else Israel will have to take unilateral action that the Palestinians really won't like. Because if the Palestinians don't learn to really accept the right of existence of the Jewish state, then the Israelis would be crazy to allow the Palestinians to have a state from which they could continue the war against the Jews. It does no one any good to hide one's head in the sand and pretend that isn't the case.